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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. land — ground
  3. present — a gift
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. present — the time now
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. squash — to crush
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — the underground
  12. present — there
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. mine — for digging
  20. land — to come down
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com